An old-fashioned operator with a gargantuan legbreak and majestic wrong'un, Stuart MacGill had the best strike-rate and worst luck of any modern spin bowler. His misfortune was to play alongside Shane Warne in an age when Australia, the land of Grimmett and O'Reilly, paradoxically frowned on the concept of fielding two wrist-spinners at once. After showing they could work in tandem with 13 wickets against Pakistan at Sydney in 2005, MacGill hoped - almost pleaded - for more double-act opportunities. Playing seven matches in 2005-06, he dismantled the World XI with nine victims and accepted 16 wickets in the two-game series against Bangladesh. The following season, after injuring his knee on John Buchanan's boot camp, he didn't play a Test, but encouragement came when Warne left international cricket at the end of the Ashes. At 36, MacGill, who entered the ranks of grumpy older men when a 2006-07 argument with a grade umpire led to a two-match suspension, had the most reasons to be cheerful.

However, he struggled on his return to the Australia side against Sri Lanka in 2007 and was diagnosed with carpal-tunnel syndrome. His wrist required surgery and despite hard-working attempts to regain his previous powers, he knew in the West Indies he was no longer a bowler of international quality. Rather than hang around, he called it quits during the second Test in Antigua. In true MacGill style he stepped down with plaudits for his fine bowling contributions, honest personal reflections and a fine for sleeping in.

MacGill stayed philosophical throughout his career, eagerly running in and invariably running amok. He bewitched 53 wickets in 11 Tests during Warne's 12-month drugs ban in 2003-04, yet was maligned for bowling one boundary-ball per over; a shade unfairly, considering that was the standard modus operandi for all leggies pre-Warne. A batting duffer and increasingly feckless fielder, he played only three one-day internationals, winning the Man-of-the-Match award in one of them. Unusually for a bowler, MacGill seldom smiled upon taking a wicket. Instead he let out a roar of accomplishment. "People ask me why I don't smile - it's because it's really hard," he said in 2003-04. "Test cricket's hard ... I'll take a wicket and there'll be an explosion of emotion." It was one of MacGill's many quirks.

He is a wine connoisseur who has hosted a pay television show called Uncorked, and learned later in life to enjoy the taste of beer. The son and grandson of Western Australian state players, he socialised with friends who weren't cricketers in his playing days, and was often portrayed as a thinker, a misfit, the odd man out. It was something he played down, although he once read 24 novels on a tour of Pakistan. But the praise lavished on his decision to boycott Zimbabwe in 2004 because of moral concerns continued an unwelcome pattern: he long generated headlines for being out of the Australian team rather than for his performances in it. He was always prolific at the state level and played key parts in numerous New South Wales triumphs. ESPNcricinfo staff

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Timeline

October-November 1991 Early promise

Impresses for the Australian Cricket Academy with three five-wicket hauls.

July 1997 - In a brief stint for Somerset (he played one match for their first XI), he takes 6 for 15 in the seconds followed by 7 for 21 against Hampshire.

November 1997 - Having earlier switched from Western Australia to New South Wales, takes his first five-wicket haul for his new state when he picks up 5 for 54.

December 2002 - Warne injures his shoulder during the 2001-02 Ashes, and Steve Waugh demands MacGill's recall. "I have gone on record that he's in the top couple of spinners in the world," Waugh said.

April 22, 2003 - Takes his 100th Test wicket when Carlton Baugh is out hit-wicket. MacGill is enjoying his status as Australia's No. 1 spinner after Warne was handed a drugs ban two months earlier.

April 21, 2004 - Pulls out of Australia's tour of Zimbabwe citing moral reasons. "I don't have ambitions as an activist or political spokesman," he said, "and I don't want to influence anybody else because this is a personal matter based on my own feelings."

September 2004 - Angered at missing out on selection for Australia's tour to India. "At this point in time I believe I'm a better onfield option than anyone outside Shane Warne," he said. "That's not a personal comment, it's a professional comment."

January 2, 2005 - Returns to Test cricket after a ten-month absence, picking up 5 for 87 against Pakistan.

January 7, 2005 - "I honestly believe now I've proven to myself and I've proven to people who count that I can do it," he said, believing he was Australia's next spinning option after Warne. "I might outlast them all, and that's my major goal."

September 2005 - Watches from the sidelines as Australia lose the Ashes in England. Warne grabs 40 wickets in the series but MacGill is not picked for any of the five Tests and says "none of it made much sense to me".

October 2005 - Outperforms Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Daniel Vettori in the Super Series Test, finishing with match figures of 9 for 82 in Australia's 210-run win.

April 2006 - Achieves his best figures in a Test innings by claiming 8 for 108 against Bangladesh in Fatullah.

August 2006 - Injures his knee at the boot camp organised by Australia's coach John Buchanan.

December 2006 - Reduces his workload slightly by retiring from domestic one-day cricket.

November 2007 - Becomes Australia's No. 1 Test spinner after Shane Warne's retirement earlier in the year and plays his first Test for 18 months when he turns out against Sri Lanka in Brisbane. Collects his 200th Test wicket by bowling Michael Vandort with a ripping legbreak. Achieves the milestone in his 41st Test, making him the equal fourth fastest to get there.

December 2007 - After battling with hand and knee injuries in the second Test against Sri Lanka, has surgery on his right wrist to deal with carpal-tunnel syndrome.

March 2008 - Makes his Pura Cup comeback following the operation and has a successful few weeks for New South Wales, grabbing four wickets in the final as they secure the title.

May 2008 - Returns to Test cricket for the first time since his surgery but struggles in Kingston against West Indies. Also has little impact in his first spell in the second Test in Antigua, leading him to retire from international cricket. -->